#targaryens

The Targaryens are such a small, insular group that their Valyrian customs, culture, and even genes had a negligible impact on Westeros. Like this is the family that is famous for incest, they didn't get that reputation by marrying a bunch of people outside their group lmao

House Targaryen largely abandoned their Valyrian customs in favor of Westerosi (mostly Andal) ones anyway. Pretty much all they retained were their dragons (which went extinct halfway through their reign) and incestuous marriage practices. Like, one of the first things Aegon the Conqueror did was establish House Targaryen as a Westerosi House (giving them heraldry and house words, which they did not have in Old Valyria).

A ton of Targaryens were diehard Catholics adherents of the Faith of the Seven. The only thing we hear about the old Valyrian religion is that some Targaryen dragons were named after gods of Old Valyria. There are also a few Valyrian weddings, but by and large House Targaryen adheres to the Faith and tries to not rock the boat (ignoring Maegor lmao).

Especially after they lost their dragons, House Targaryen went out of their way to integrate into Westerosi culture and become more like the people they ruled over. Again, Westerosi culture remained largely unchanged during the reign of the Targaryens because people were free to worship their own gods, speak their own language, etc.

The fact that Essos is full of people with Valyrian looks and even more people who speak Valyrian is a testament to the fact that the Valyrian Freehold did both conquer and colonize Essos. Even though their civilization has been extinct for 400 years at the time the main story begins, people in the lands they conquered are still speaking their language and following some of their customs even if they're not ethnically Valyrian.

I may get anon hate for this lol, but the First Men and especially Andals were bigger colonizers than House Targaryen could ever dream of. Both groups fundamentally changed the way Westeros looked and functioned. They also heavily displaced native groups (the Children of the Forest and later the First Men).

On the other hand, the Rhoynar/Dornish are an example of cultural integration. Princess Nymeria and House Martell may have conquered Dorne, but from the info we're given it seems like the Rhoynar and the native Dornish willingly intermarried and mixed cultures.